Modern Link's Shadow
by SGarrison
Summary: Murders are picking up in the Continent of North America, especially in non-populated areas. A mysterious, unnatural killer is going the rounds. And only a young school-boy can stop him. Warning: Violence and occasional scary scenes.
1. Prologue

_**Modern Link's Shadow**_

_**Prologue**_

_**The Murder**_

_

* * *

_

_-"The Canadian Wilderness: 2012_

_Modern Day Logging Camp..."_

"I guess we should call it a day, Bill!" John called over to his logger friend.

"Alright. I'll see ya' tomorrow!" Bill called back, turning to walk to his cabin.

John nodded to himself and turned to walk to his truck. He glanced over to the tree they had just cut. It would probably be alright if he left it there over-night and got it tomorrow. It would be dark pretty soon, anyways. He had all day tomorrow, for sure. He continued walking towards his blue 1995 Ford Pick-up truck parked near where the tree had fallen. He picked up his chainsaw laying by it and set it down in the bed pf the Ford. He closed the back and hopped in the driver's seat. He shut the door and plugged in his keys. He turned them and the truck roared to life. He turned to radio to a soft, country melody and forced it out of neutral. He started to drive down the trail. The sky was slowly growing darker.

"Hm, when did the engine start to make noises like that?" John asked himself, looking around. The engine was sputtering and the heat was not coming on.

The engine quit.

The truck slowly drove to a stop in the middle of the trail. He cursed silently and stepped out of the truck. He walked to the front and opened the hood. The engine was clogged and covered in some sort of dark filth. By looking at it, he could tell it was not oil. He dipped a finger in it and yanked it out. The whole engine and the stuff was _cold_!

The leaves rustled off to the side. John snapped his head around. His eyes scanned the forest. He saw a dark figure dart to another area. His heart started to beat a bit faster. Was it Bill pulling some sort of prank? Bill was not the type, but...

"Hello? Bill, is that you?!" he called out.

The leaves rustled some more.

"Okay, Bill! What did you you do to my truck?!"

The dark figure shot behind another tree. John took a brave stepped forward an clenched his fist.

"Hello...?"

"Hi!" he heard a young voice call from the darkness. It must have come from some deep-voiced seventeen year-old.

"Who are you?" John asked wearily.

"No one in particular." the voice said back.

"Well, I'd like to know!"

"Alright."

A pitch-black arrow soared over John's head and landed on the roof of his truck. More of the black liquid seeped from the arrow. John heard a laugh. He took off running towards his cabin. He would not have time to get out his chainsaw and start it.

"Run, run as fast as you can! I'm-a coming!" the voice mocked.

As John ran, he could hear the leaves and pine rustling and crunching as the figure ran after him. He turned. He did not see the figure. He stopped and turned completely around. There was no sign of the person. Then a finger gently tapped his shoulder. It was colder than ice. He turned cautiously and gasped. A pair of blood-red eyes were staring at him. He screamed as he felt a sudden pain in his stomach. It felt like sharp, freezing metal had gone right through him. His breathing started to slow. He was scared. Then the figure pulled the sword out.

John's vision slowly started to fade. The figure was gone. Then it was all black...

* * *

**A/N: **I'm suffering from writer's block in all my other stories, so I'll be working on this new story while I wait to get new ideas for my others. I hope you like it!

I'm hoping especially this gives me more ideas for my other Link's Shadow story.


	2. Chapter 1: First Day of School

_**Modern Link's Shadow**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**First Day of School**_

* * *

_God this back-pack is heavy! I don't even have all my supplies in here!_ Link thought as he pulled the red pack out of the trunk of his brand new car. It was a black, 2002 Gt Convertible Mustang. His parents had bought it for him at a reasonably low price online. It was one of the better cars parked around the school.

He checked the bag and car for all of his books and sighed in relief once he realized he had all of them. It would have been terrible to make such a mistake on the first day of school; forgetting school books. Link chuckled to himself, remembering his sixth-grade year when he had forgotten half his supplies at home. That was a mistake he was sure never to make again.

He locked his car and dropped the keys into his backpack. He positioned the bag on his back and started to walk towards the school. _First hour is math. Got it. _he thought to himself as he crossed over the parking lot and onto the grassy area around the high school. Several other students milled about and talked. He had ten minutes to get into his classroom, get his locker number, get prepared.

It was strange. He was not popular, even though he was stronger than some of the football players in his grade, and probably more attractive. He wore a pair of loose blue-jeans torn slightly at the knee from working at a farm over the summer. He had a dark-blue hoodie over his white T-shirt. His ocean-blue eyes seemed to match his "long in the front" blond hair. Hair that most would be interested it. It was short and nicely cut in the back, but up and the front, long hair was parted to the side of his face. It gave him an odd look for sure, but it was not the ugly sort of odd.

"Hey, Link!" a voice called over.

"Oh. Hi." Link greeted as the person ran to his side. It was his best friend Mido. They were probably best friends because of their names. It was not every day you met someone named 'Mido' or 'Link'.

"What's your first hour class?" Mido asked curiously.

"Math."

"Cool! Me too!" he said excitedly.

They stopped, letting a seventh grader run by. For a seventh-grade boy, he sure was short! They continued on their way down the sidewalks and into a door. Link and Mido turned into the main office where several other students waited to turn in their papers.

"Oh dear lord..." Link moaned impatiently.

"I know; you'd think if we were so early not this many people would be here!"

The two waited as the crowds in the room slackened and increased, rose and fell like the waves. Eventually Link was standing before the front desk. A young woman, probably no more than twenty-five was sitting down, typing frantically on an old computer. Link waited a moment, until she was done typing.

The lady turned to face him as she grabbed a small, blue pen," Oh, hi, how can I help you?"

"Um, I want to turn in my papers." Link replied, handing her a few signed contracts.

The lady nodded and grabbed a small slip of paper. She quickly signed her name and handed it to him," Give this to your first hour teacher." she ordered.

Link nodded, grabbing the slip. He left Mido who went to turn in his papers.

Link hurried past all the crowds, down a locker room, and up to a room. It read:

'Junior Math and Science'

Link opened the door and stepped inside. He saw a few, familiar faces inside, sitting at their desks. He approached a woman sitting at a desk. She looked up and smiled.

"Hi, you must be Link!" she greeted kingly, using the same sort of smile all the teachers gave on the first day of school.

"Yes ma'am. I'm here to turn in my slip." he explained, handing her the slip. She read it over quickly and put it in a drawer full of slips like it. She searched some papers and handed a small one to him.

"Alright, here's your locker number and desk number."

"Thanks." He then turned and walked back into the locker room. More students were piling inside. He fought his way past the crowd and finally found his locker. He opened it and crounched down down; sitting his bag by down by him. He unzipped it and searched through a few English and history books before placing them on a small shelf at the top of the locker. He placed a few packs of lined paper and note cards. He was sure to keep a few for math. He took out a few Spanish Language books and placed them by the note cards. He slammed the locker shut quickly and zipped his backpack. He threw it onto his back in one swift move and scurried off towards his classroom.

He found his desk, desk number '1' and sat down at it. It was in the back corner of the room. He placed his bag down under his desk and took out a pre-sharpened pencil and placed it neatly on the desk, just as the bell rung.

"Hey, Link!" Mido whispered as he sat down on the desk in the back of the row right beside him.

"Hey." Link whispered back.

~*~

Link sighed as he finally zipped his bag up and stood up. Math and science was finally over! There was no lesson in either class. Just an introduction to the schedule and text books and papers. It was finally on to recess!

Recess, in high school, was just a time in the morning where you shuffled down into the cafeteria and bought little breakfast snack-cakes or chips and maybe a drink. Nothing much.

Mido met Link right as he entered the cafeteria.

"Hey! I finally caught up with you!"

"Yep. Heh, never figured you would." Link joked.

"Whatev- hey, did you forget your lunchcard?" Mido asked as they stepped into a large line.

"No," Link replied," did you?"

"Nope."

Link laughed quietly to himself as they took another step up in the line. He quickly glanced over to the check-out area. As soon as you got into junior high, you had to have a card to buy everything. Link could never really figure out why. It just made it almost impossible to eat when you forgot it at home.

"So... what did you think of our first hour teacher?" Mido asked suddenly.

"Meh, she was okay." Link answered, turning back to face his friend," She was nice, at least. Or she seemed nice enough."

"Yeah. Hey, Link, when did you take off your sweatshirt?"

"After math."

"Oh, okay."

_So many questions. _Link thought as they progressed up the line slowly but surely. _Oh great, break will be over soon! _his thoughts wailed.

~*~

You would have never imagined how refreshed Link felt as he walked across the parking lot towards his car. He popped the trunk with one quick tap of a button on his keys. He threw the backpack in nonchalantly. He closed the trunk and hopped in the front. Well, at least people had not been all over him, asking him about his summer. In fact, besides being greeted by numerous staff, he had talked to no one except Mido.

He plugged the keys in and turned them. He turned the heat dial up some and searched the radio for the news. _Might as well hear what's going on around. _he thought as he backed up from his parking space. He drove off campus and started down the highway towards his house. Traffic was reasonably low that day. Most likely people were still getting ready to leave school or work. He passed one of his school's school buses. A few people who recognized him waved from the windows. Link tried to act cool and not notice them.

"...and thank you, Cindy for the report. Now, on other news, we've got another mysterious stab-murder turn up!" the news reporter said. Link turned up the volume and listened as he drove," It appears a logger in Canada was stabbed once and killed very quickly. Investigators found strange, black muck all over the man's truck. Scientists who arrived at the scene a day later could not identify the it. This is one of the five stab murders that happened mysteriously by what most experts believe to be by the same person! No DNA evidence could be found hinting who the killer was, but they're still working on it. Alright, now we'll move on to the weather, we have rain expected for tomorrow..."

Link turned the volume down. He was a bit interested. No longer than two days ago; he had read in the news paper about a stab victim in the California deserts. The whole thing seemed a bit creepy. Whoever this killer was, he had his way of getting around to these places.

_Hm, first day of school is over... _he mused as the murder case slowly faded into the back of his head.

* * *

**A/N: **Alright, first chapter completed! So, you might find it a little strange, you know, Link put in a modern high school. *Well, modern... sorta... if 2012 counts as modern* Well, I hope you enjoy. Link has not gotten to his hero stage yet, so just enjoy it for now, yeah?

Mido; Link's friend?

Link - modern day?

Take a minute and digest the weirdness of it all. *laughs*

Comments, ideas, and critiques are welcome! :)


	3. Chapter 2: Strange Encounter

_**Modern Link's Shadow**_

_**Chapter 2**_

**Strange Encounter**

* * *

After an entire, grueling week of school, Link was glad to finally have gotten out of school for a short break. A short break, but needed. He said bye to Mido and raced through the parking lot towards his car. He dodged all the parents coming to pick up their kids in cars with ease. He raced over to his car and unlocked the truck. He opened it fully and dropped the bag inside and slammed it shut. Link hopped inside and drove off towards the highway.

The highway was full of cars and 18-wheelers. Link cursed silently as he drove out onto it from the exit. He ended up beind two slow Macs. He cursed again and took out his cell phone and pened it quickly.

"Crud, when is mom goin' to get me a new phone? Takes me forever to turn on!" he complained. His gaze traveled from his loading phone to the car's fuel guage. It was near empty," Gotta stop for fuel..." Link complained.

**EXIT 95**

**1 MILE**

**GAS STOP**

"Good." Link said aloud as soon as he passed the sign that said that.

One mile was not too much to drive. And sure enough, in less than a minute, he found himself pulling into the exit. An old gas station was built over-looking the highway, like most were. The 'hill' it was on, even over-looked the pine trees. Pine trees were common in southern Arkansas. Just like in Louisiana.

Link turned into the gas station and pulled up by a gas machine and proceeded to take out his Zora card, the name of the gas station. He ran it through the machine and grabbed the pump. He plugged it in and pulled the trigger. The gas started to flow into his car. He looked up at the cloudy sky. Wait, since when had it been cloudy that day? He looked further north and saw gathering rain clouds.

_Great! I hate driving in the rain._

As soon as he finished giving his car fuel, he pulled into a parking space. He was planning on getting a drink. He searched his car for spare change until he found a few quarters and nickles which added to be $2.76. He dropped the coins into his pocket and closed the door. He hurried inside the gas station.

He strode quickly into the back where he found 'The Red Drink'. The Red Drink was a type of soft drink that had came out no more than a year ago. It was Link's favorite. He proceeded to open the freezer door and take out a bottle. He turned to go.

"You like The Red Drink, too?" he heard a deep voice say.

Link did not respond and continued to walk forward.

Suddenly, a kid his age jumped out in front of him. His skin looked brown, but it was mostly concealed by a hoodie - much like Link's hoodie except this one was pure black. His pants were even black. They even had a tear in the left knee, like Link's. The figure was frowning. His yes could not be seen under the dark shadow the hooded cast off.

"Why are you ignoring me? I _just_ asked!" he asked quietly. There was an unmistakable anger edged in his voice, one that might mean harm.

"Uh... sure, I like them." Link responded, trying to go around the person.

With lightning quick reflexes, the person jumped back in front of him," Come on, why are you so hostile? I am just asking about that drink back there and if you like it or not."

"I said I liked them." he said exasperatedly. On the inside, though, he was afraid. Did this stranger have a weapon?

"_Alright_!" he snapped.

Link jumped back an inch, surprised.

"You are the worst person I have ever met! I..." he trailed off so that he was muttering and pushed Link into the candy on the aile they were in. Link groaned and sat up and ran to the front, where he saw the person run out the door and down the road with no car.

The rain clouds were gone...

"What was all that about?" the woman at the desk asked as he stood before her.

"I have no idea."

~*~

As soon as he paid for his drink, he scurried out of gas station and to his car. He opened his door and jumped inside and started his car. He put it in reverse and drove back. He put it back in first gear and drove off back onto the highway. He was driving fast, somehow spooked by his encounter with the person. Who was he? Why did he seem to want to hang over him like that? And so suddenly, too?

The questions rolled through his mind until he got home. It was there where he parked his car outside and ran inside with his drink and bag in tow. He opened his drink and took a long, swig. His mom or dad was not home, so he planned to watch something on the news. For some reason, he wanted to hear more about that killer. The mysterious figure at the gas station reminded him of the killer for some unknown reason. Link dropped his bag and ran into the living room and sat down on the couch where there was the remote. He turned on the T.V. and started to search through it for the various news channels.

He found nothing, so he just settled for some stand-up comedy. Something to ease the mood after the encounter with the person.


	4. Chapter 3: Nightmare

_**Modern Link's Shadow**_

_**Chapter 3**_

**Nightmare**

* * *

Link sighed as he parked his car and opened the door. He was in front of the same Zora gas station. He walked inside. It was completely empty. All except for a mysterious figure standing in front of the candy aisle. The figure smiled and took a step forward. He reached into his hoodie's pocket and took out a bottle of The Red Drink.

"W-what... huh?" Link mused, taking a cautious step back," Where is everybody?"

The person took no regard to his question," I hear you like The Red Drink. I bought some especially for you! Here, drink up. You have a long way to drive."

Link did not move. He was locked in place by fear.

"What's this?" The figure asked himself, taking another step forward. His arm was still outstretched with the drink," You do not want a drink? One that I bought especially for you?"

Link shook his head quickly.

The figure snarled and dropped the bottle. The bottle exploded. Sizzling, red liquid was washed all over the floor tiled floor. Link gasped in surprise and took another step back.

"You will pay..." the figure threatened softly.

With a sudden cry, the figure shot forward and grabbed Link with amazing strength. He brought him into the candy aisle and threw him down. He drew a black sword and brough it down on Link.

Link screamed and rolled to the side," Stop, please, I'm sorry!"

"'Sorry' will not make the cut!" The figure roared again and hacked at Link.

Link jumped up and made an attempt to tackle the figure. The figure stepped to the side, allowing Link to hit the ground hard. The figure chuckled and brought his sword down. Link let out one final scream.

**Headline News: Another Stab Victim is YOU!**

Link shuddered and shot awake. He was hot and the sides of his face were washed in sweat. He was breathing heavily.

"I-I'm alive...!" he exclaimed quietly in a small, meek voice," Oh God; I have let all this murder stuff get to my head... Ugh."

~*~

Link ate the breakfast of pancakes and bacon quickly and without talking to his parents. He got up and thought for a moment. _I could watch the news and see if anything on the killer turned up. Heck - why am I so interested in it? All I did as meet a wierd guy at a gas station. Yeah; the police will get the killer. And it looks like all the kills are up in the north. Or... I think so. Seems like it if he's in Canada, I shouldn't be scaring myself by looking for the killer all-_

"Link, why are you just standing there?" his mom blurted out suddenly.

"Oh...? Oh! I'm just thinking." he replied quickly.

"About what?"

Link searched his brain for ideas," Homework."

"What about it?"

"I don't think I have any."

His mother walked by him and placed the empty coffee mug by the counter," Oh, okay." she made her way past him and up the stairs into her room. Link waited until he knew she had walked back into her room before thinking more again.

Link sighed and shook his head. He would watch the news. His legs started to move him automatically into the living room. He sat down on his couch, stretched his legs hard. It was cloudy outside again. He grabbed the remote and turned on the T.V. and flipped thorugh all of the news channels.

They never had anything on the killer.

~*~

"You like it out here?" Christopher asked his friend and they rested comfortably by the camp fire around Lake Ouachita in central-west Arkansas.

"Hm?" James, his friend noised, looking up from a small book.

"I asked if you like it out here."

"Oh! It's good. I still can't get get over how big the lake is!"

"First time I ever came here was when I was twelve. And, boy, it seemed even larger, then!" Christopher said with a small laugh.

James nodded slowly," I see."

The leaves rustled mysteriously in the distance. A bit of fallen pine crunched in the woods, like something was walking. Christohper looked up. The walking stopped.

"You hear that?" he asked James quietly.

"Yeah!" James exclaimed under his breath. He laid his book down and looked off into the woods.

The pine crunched again. It was a step towards their camp.

"Oh shoot! Don't they have black bears around here?" James asked urgently.

Christopher nodded slowly. He grabbed a small pistol he had brought for protection. The pine crunched a bit more.

Then, from the dark woods in the distance, came a projectile that looked similar to an arrow. The projectile landed in the fire. Sparks flew. James jumped up, realizing it _was_ an arrow. Then, the fire started to die. A strange, black muck was seeping from its wooden stalk, putting the fire out. Then everything was dark, only lit by the faint glow of the moon.

"Owwwhooo! Run, boys!" James heard someone scream.

Both men jumped up and looked around frantically. James heard a scream come from nearby and gagging sounds. James looked towards Christopher, only to see him being stabbed by some dark outline of a person.

"Chris, no!" James cried.

Christopher let out one last scream as the figure yanked its sword out. A pair of glowing, red eyes turned to face him. He could make out a small smile in the figure's face.

"You can see him again." he said, showing his dark sword threateningly.

James screamed and started to run away as fast as he could. He could hear the figure laughing loudly as he made pursuit.

James tore through the under brush and thorns. He jumped over tree roots and saplings and dodged large rocks. He heard the steady breathing of the foe chasing him. James never once stopped. He did not even stop to take in his surroundings to make a plan. He just kept sprinting, as fast as he had been.

"Run!" the figure called out.

James was sprinting faster than ever. He felt himself cramping up. He groaned, no longer able to sprint. He finally made it to a stop behind a large rock. He was breathing heavily. He could still hear his foe running. He knew he would not be able to stay where he was. He got up and started to run again.

"Better speed up!" the figure mocked.

James tried, yet he found himself unable. Suddenly a blow to the back made him go flying into a tree. He groaned in utter pain and looked up to see the same, glowing eyes staring at him. _Oh God; it's a nightmare! _he thought as he stared up into the unmoving eyes. The dark figure stared down at him gleefully.

He let out a small laugh," No... 'It's' not. But - you are very welcome to call me that!"

Wait! Was he able to read minds? If so, what was-

James screamed as the figure stabbed him once and powerfully. James squirmed and gasped as the blade twisted quickly. He screamed again as it was yanked from its place in his body. A strange black muck started to spill from the wound, covering most of his blood that fell out. He tried to stay alive. Sudden spasms of pain shot up into his brain. He screamed again and fought to stay alive. He heard the figure laugh. Then the figure was gone.

"N-noo!" James moaned," I c-can't die! No..." he moaned.

He placed his hands on his stomach. It was almost frozen. He cried out again and moaned in agony. He twitched and stirred, over-taken by pain. He never once pulled his hands away from his stomach, even though they were growing numb.

"I..."

He trailed off as a sudden weak feeling overtook him. He felt lightheaded. All the feeling in his body disappeared. His eyes rolled back into his head. Then everything was gone.


	5. Chapter 4: Grandparents

_**Modern Link's Shadow**_

_**Chapter 4**_

**Grandparents**

* * *

Link awoke from a dreamless sleep and yawned. He opened his tired eyes as sat up. Faint, morning light entered the room. He rolled out of bed and started down stairs. He walked down into his kitchen and looked at the clock on the stove. It was a quarter past seven. Link yawned again and opened his food cabinet. He took out a box of cereal and walked over to another cabinet and grabbed a bowl. Placing both down, he tramped over to the fridge and took out a half-gallon of organic milk. Shutting the fridge door, he poured the cereal into the bowl and poured milk in. He put the milk and cereal up and grabbed a spoon and began to munch on his breakfast.

"Link...?" he heard his mother say as she entered the kitchen.

Link looked up from his meal," Yeah?"

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Just woke up, I guess." he replied flatly.

"Alright. Well uh, I'll just be watching the news in the living room."

Link took another bite and stood up. He swallowed his food and hurried after his mom," I'll watch, too."

"Alright." she responded, not even looking up at him.

They sat silently on the living room couch in front of the T.V. His mom grabbed the remote and turned the T.V. on with the simple press of a button. She proceeded to search the chanels until she came to an interesting report.

"...that's the seventh one, yeah?" Link heard the announcer ask the reporter," Yes, John. Tourists in their cabins were awake in fear when they heard screaming coming form the woods around Lake Quachita. Police were sent to investigate, where they found _two_ stab victims covered in black muck. Most are calling the annoyomous murderer the 'Muck-killer'. Residents in Southern Arkansas are encouraged to stay inside until we have evidence that the killer has left the state. We don't know who he is, but he sure does have his ways of getting around."

Link's mom changed the channel. They watched the weather news in silence.

"Freaky." Link finally commented.

"I wonder when he'll leave Arkansas?" his mother mused.

"No clue."

His mom looked to him suddenly," be careful when you're out walking, alright, hun?"

Link forced himself to laugh a little," Oh c'mon, mom, I doubt he'll have anything to do with us."

His mom shook her head and started to flip through the channels.

"Mom?" Link suddenly asked.

His mom turned down the volume and looked over to him," Huh?"

"Do you think I could go over to Papaw's? I sort of promised him I would help him with his garden work last Sunday." he explained quickly.

He hadn't known why he was asking. Probably just wanting to get away from odd people in gas stations and mysterious, near-by killers. At least a bit of work would make him feel better. His grandparents lived in northeast Louisiana.

"That sounds fine. I'll give them a call in another hour or so."

Link nodded and stood up. He stretched his legs and walked off; obviously going upstairs to pack his clothes.

~*~

"C'mon! Put in a little more effort!" Link's papaw cried as he missed an entire pile of leaves in his garden while driving the little mower. They were in his garden, trying to mow over leaves for compost. He grimaced as his papaw yelled.

"Oh lord..." Link muttered as he missed another pile. He turned sharply and ran back over it. The cut-up debris flew in all directions and settled quietly on the bare farm. Earlier they had cleaned out all the plants and well... everything.

They had spent hours raking leaves all along the house and laid them down in piles on the small, veggie garden. Now all that was left was to just mow over the last few piles. Link pressed the pedal to raise his blade and drive right in the middle of another pile slowly; giving it time to cut through the thick gathering of dry leaves. Link finally made it through and turned again, running over some more leaves.

Link ran over the last pile until it was mowed. He then spent the rest of his time in the garden, mowing where the largest clusters of 'leaf-pieces' left. Eventually he stopped and approached his Papaw. The sun was getting lower in the sky.

"Alright, I guess you can go park the mower in the shed." he ordered, taking off his straw hat to scratch the top of his head.

"Okay!" Link siad eagerly, glad to be done.

He jumped into the only seat on the small vehicle and turned it on. He put the emergency brake off, and started to drive towards a small, metal shed high on a hill, not even mid-way up his drive way. He drove past the house slowly and then went faster. He zipped up the hill and slowed down right by the shed. He turned sharply so he was facing the other direction and carefully backed into the shed.

Link turned off the mower and jumped off. His legs felt strange from sitting down, mowing. He sprinted anyway towards the house. He ran in the door and shut it quietly. His grandparents had already settled down to some T.V.

Link grinned when he realized what his papaw was eating - hamburger!

He shot into the kitchen and found all the materials laying out. He grabbed two buns and dropped the juicy meat patty on it. He squirted some mustard on the other bun, and placed a few tomatoes and pickles over the meat. He placed some lettuce over the mustard. He sprinkled salt all over and closed the buns together.

He took a bite and chewed slowly, missing the almost perfect flavor of the burgers his papaw made. Apparently he had been working on the burgers while Link was mowing.

He took another bite, chewed, and swallowed, taking in the flavor to the best of his he was done, he walked into the living room boredly.

"Hey, Link, how'd you do out there?" his grandma asked.

"Good; I guess." Link replied modestly.

"Naw, he sure did good. I think he forgot how to use th'mower, though!" his papaw cut in.

"Did he really?" his grandma asked surprised.

"Well... he knew how to turn it on, but he was a little messy in the controls. But o'erall I think he did good."

Link grandma nodded and smiled to him quickly and went back to working on a crossword puzzle in the newspaper.

"Hey Link," his papaw suddenly asked," could you do me a favor and walk down by the rode to uh, your cousin Will's house and close the gate? I done plum forgot to do that!"

Link nodded," I'll go."

It was a good thing that Will's house was practically across the street. It was a decent walk down the rode, but probably not even half a mile. Link stood up and slipped on his hoodie and wlaked outside into the cool, night air.

"Gosh it was just sunset awhile ago!" Link said in wonder, looking up at the darkening sky for a brief moment.

He hurried to a run up his grandparents drive way, down a long, winding path, and out onto the rode. He could see the pasture, stretching on and on. Link could see the pines on the horizon. He made his way onto the side of the rode and started to run down a long hill, and back up to his cousin's driveway.

He walked down a path and stood before the closed gates," Huh?"

"I took the liberty of closing them for you, _friend_." a voice said bitterly.

Link's head snapped around abrubtly. His eyes scanned the darkness, looking for whom the voice belonged to. It was familiar. Deep, yet young, like him. He turned his head so that he was facing the gate and gasped, surprised.

Link pinched himself, afraid it would be a dream. He stood still, afraid.

"You are looking cowardly." the strange man he had met at the gas station mused.

"I..." Link trailed off, speechless. How had he found him?

Link could barely make out a smile under the shadow that the hood gave off. Link could see two orbs glowing blood-red in the night where his eyes were supposed to be. Link shuddered at the ominous sight.

"Funny. I can actually scare one of you, finally."

"W-what do you mean... 'one of you'?" Link asked in a small voice.

"I mean a hero."

_His mom looked to him suddenly," be careful when you're out walking, alright, hun?"_

_Link forced himself to laugh a little," Oh c'mon, mom, I doubt he'll have anything to do with us."_

The conversation stung Link bitterly as he realized everything he had said was wrong. He _did_ have something to do with them.

He smiled brightly," I have waited a long time, so lets not delay."


	6. Chapter 5: Dark Link

_**Modern Link's Shadow**_

_**Chapter 5**_

**Dark Link**

* * *

The person laughed silently, taking a step forward," You - you are very scared, correct?"

Link nodded slowly.

"And you do not even know who I am."

"The killer!" Link spat.

The glowing red eyes widened with interest," Oh yes?"

"Yes! You're the one who's been goin' around stabbing all those people! Is this the talk you gave them before-"

"I don't talk to my victims!" he interrupted with harshness in his voice. Link jolted and took a step back.

"W-why are you talking to me, then?" Link asked slowly.

"Because you are different," he began to explain, becoming calm again," you are the real victim, here. All of your kind has tried to kill me at one point or another!"

"I... I don't understand..." Link stammered, afraid.

"Let me explain! Look at your hand!" he snapped.

Link looked at his palm and saw nothing.

"Your back hand!" he ordered impatiently.

Link turned his hand over and gasped. His hand was glowing brightly. A strange set of three golden triangles rested on it. He felt a sudden warmness surge through his body," I don't-"

"Of course you don't!" he roared.

Link stumbled back onto the hard ground, afraid.

The person smiled, taking a step forward. He seemed so calm again, almost like he was overjoyed by Link's presence. It scared him. The person crouched down and started to bring down a dark hand to caress his cheek.

Link shivered as a hand as cold as ice touched is face. The man flew into the closed gate suddenly with a painful cry. He fell over on the ground and gaped at his hands. His jaw slackened. His glare turned hateful as he eyed Link like he was some deadly toxic waste that had wiped out everyone he knew.

"I... you are just like _him_! Your skin hurts to touch because it's so warm! I can sense a bit of him in you. I can see determination... Oh Din I hate it!" he roared.

Din? What was that supposed to mean? Link let out a small, weak cry as the person stood up.

"I can see you are scared though. Much more scared than he ever was." his eyes wondered for a moment," I am thinking deeply on the subject..."

Link finally managed to ask in a small voice," What subject...?"

The person smiled warmly again, staring down at them," Whether I kill you fast so you cannot escape destiny as always. Or to kill you slow. That would be more enjoyable to watch as you gave you last breath... But you might escape. Oh, maybe I'll kill you... semi-slow!" he licked his lips and jumped on Link.

Link screamed and managed to crawl away and stand on his now shaking feet.

"Running? You have not even seen the real reason to run!" he said, grinning now. In a flash of pale, green light, a strange black figure, darker than the previous one dressed like Link, stood in his place.

Link could see a dark, tipped hat hang down on the back of it's head. It's hair was silver and seemed to glow like the moon. The hair resembled Link's very closely. His eyes were all red. Every last bit of them. His pupils were even a shade of deep red, but it was red nonetheless. He had a glowing undershirt that was under a pitch-black tunic. Tunic? That was way out of the times. But that did not matter now. Link still couldn't get over how much the person resembled him.

"I... am Dark Link. I'm so sorry you do not have that much longer to live; but I need my revenge."

"Why don't you _not_ kill me? Why don't you stop killing innocents?!" Link cried.

"Stop killing innocents?!" he exclaimed as if someone has slapped him," I've quit! I only did so to get to you. And congratulations, for you have the honor of living _this_ long to talk to me!" His deep unnatural made the threat sting Link's heart even worse. He seemed to act so unusual, almost like he was insane.

Link started to run towards the hay barn, where several bales stacked on each other would be located. He might be able to hide there.

"Running, hm?" he heard Dark Link call after him.

Link sped up and darted into the dark, musty barn. He raced past all of the tools and supplies and climbed the fence that held all the hay in. Just as he was half-way up, he felt a sudden, powerful force yank him down. He screamed in fear and fell down on the dirt floor. He heard a deep voice laugh. He closed his eyes and grimaced. A cool wind washed over his face as he slammed into the grass. His eyes flew open, and he found he had been thrown out of the barn. Dark Link was staring at him irritatedly.

"You try to defy the innevietable. You are a fool to even try to resist me. It is-"

Link roared and cut him off with a powerful punch to the face. Dark Link fell off of him and snarled," You little-"

But Link was already running towards the house.

"Come back!" Dark Link screamed in anger.

Link ran faster down the rode towards his grandparents' house. The wind roared in his ears as he ran up the hill and into the driveway. He ran down the winding path and down the hill and into his car. His papaw was watching worriedly. Link grabbed his keys from the small glove box and turned on the car. He rolled down the window and called out to his papaw.

"Get inside! Please, hurry!" he rolled up the window and turned around and drove up the driveway and down the road towards his house. He was at least thirty miles an hour over the forty five mile an hour speed limit but he didn't care. He was racing to get home, into Arkansas. Somehow he knew that no matter how far he drove, Dark Link was not far behind.

Then the thought hit him.

_Oh God, I can't put mom in danger like this! _his mind roared. Link was going to drive past it. He was going to keep on the highway and never stop. How could he? How could he put his life in danger by going outside his car? Dark Link was looking for him. His shivered at the thought of being stabbed to death. He drove out onto the highway several minutes later and started to head west.

His mind raced. He couldn't stay on the road forever, he soon realized. Besides, Dark Link might try killing more people to draw him out. Link was smarter than that, but to let all those people die?

He groaned. _Curse you, Dark Link!_


	7. Chapter 6: Fury

_**Modern Link's Shadow**_

_**Chapter 6**_

**Fury**

* * *

"No!" he roared, falling over onto the ground. He clenched his fist and slammed it down on the woods floor with an amazing force. His facial expression was strange, like he had just seen some horror movie that was just too much," How did I manage to loose track of him?! He could be miles upon miles away now! Maybe he is even off the highway!" he cried," I will find him," he vowed," and destroy him. I do not care how many people I have to kill before he shows himself!"

Dark Link stood up and looked beyond all the vast pine trees. He heard the cars on the highway in the distance. He cursed silently and trekked through the woods. It must have been at least seventy degrees outside, but to him it usually felt like ten. He was always cold. No matter what; except now.

Now it felt a thousand. Like he might explode in his fury. He stormed out onto the side of the highway and drew his dark sword and started to storm forward. He knew what he was doing. Sure enough, several minutes later, a policeman pulled over in front of his path and got out of the car with a gun.

"Sir, can I ask you what you're doing with that sword?" he asked suspiciously.

"What do you think? I'm going to kill somebody!" Dark Link told him flatly.

The policeman raised his gun and pointed it straight at Dark's head," Sir, I'm going to ask you to drop to weapon, put your hands behind your back, and come with me!" he ordered.

Dark Link scoffed," You think you can make me?"

"Yes. Sir, I'm going to ask you one more time to put the sword down and-"

The policeman screamed.

One second, he was watching Dark Link laugh. The next, he was pinned up against his car by ice-cold hands. He cried out and tried to wrestle free, but could hardly squirm," Let go!" the policeman ordered.

"No." Dark Link replied.

"Sir, you don't know what you're doing!" the policeman warned.

"I have a fairly good idea." Dark Link said, picking the policeman up with one hand and throwing him on the ground. People driving by would watch with horrified faces when they realized that was the policeman thrown down.

"Stop!" the policeman roared, shooting his gun at Dark Link.

He was hit in the chest.

Dark Link gasped and fell over. He twitched and stopped moving. The policeman grimaced and jumped up. He ran over to the lifeless body and...

"Just joking with you, sir." Dark mocked.

He grabbed the policeman roughly by the throat with one hand and stood up and knocked the gun out with the other. The policeman gagged and squirmed as Dark Link squeezed his neck.

"L...let...g-go..."

"No."

He squeezed tighter.

Suddenly, Dark let go and forced the policeman onto the ground. He pinned him on the grass and grabbed his walkie-talkie and put it to the his mouth. He pressed the button, and a strange, cracking and rushing sound came up.

"Unit 7, this is HQ, is everything okay?" a voice asked over the noise.

The policeman hesitated, but Dark just nodded," Call for help, officer. Call for help."

"Help!" he screamed into the walkietalkie.

"Unit 7! Unit 7, are you still there?!"

Dark Link nodded approvingly.

"I-I'm on the highway, come now! I'm on the side of the road! Help!"

"Unit 7, we're-" Dark broke the walkietalkie with his hand. The pieces fell onto the policeman's chest. Dark Link just grinned down at the worried police officer and chuckled.

"You're scared."

"N-"

"Do _not lie_!" Dark roared, picking him up by the neck again. He started to squeeze.

"L-let... g-"

"Are you scared?!" he interrupted.

The policeman gagged.

"Are you?!"

"Y-ye..." Dark threw him down.

"Scum." he spat.

The policeman crawled back to his car and jumped inside. He slammed the door shut and turned the keys and knocked it into first gear. He slammed his foot onto the gas pedal. The car roared, and gave a jolt. It wasn't moving.

The policeman's breathing started to speed up. He gassed it again. The car roared again, but did not move.

_Craaaaaaiiiiiiiaaash! _The door was torn off of his car and he was thrown out, back onto the cool grass. His eyes widened when he saw Dark walking forward. He was grinning madly.

"Escaping, are we?" he asked, like it was just a simple joke.

"N..." he hesitated," ...yes."

"That's what I thought."

Dark Link started to reach over to grab his neck. The policeman reached into his pocket and grabbed some pepperspray and sprayed Dark in the face.

Instead and crying out and falling over on his back, Dark just laughed and knocked the pepper spray out of his hands. He grabbed the police officer by the neck and lifted him up. He heard sirens. In the next few seconds, police cars drove onto the side of the rode. Policemen rushed out and drew guns and pointed them at Dark. They used their cars for cover.

"Put him down!" one ordered through the loud speakers in his car.

"You don't have to scream." he said smugly, throwing the police officer into one of the cars.

"Sir, you are under arrest!" one called, cautiously creeping forward.

"You can try to send me to jail. I am not stopping you." he said, drawing his sword.

The policeman rushed forward with handcuffs and tried to pin him down. Dark just pointed his sword forward. The policeman ran right through the blade. His eyes shot wide, and he gasped as blood leaked from the hole in his body. He squirmed, trying to slide off the blade.

Dark Link snarled and yanked the sword out. The policeman fell to the ground, black muck leaked out over the blood.

_Crackwhiiir! Crackwhiiir!_

Bullets.

They hit Dark from all around. His sides, his front, his back. His face, everything! And they did not leave a scratch. He smiled and took a step up directly in front of one of the cars. He crouched down and put his hands under it and lifted it up off the ground with little to no difficulty. He threw the car into the woods and grabbed one of the policemen behind it and stabbed him.

All the policemen there found themselves stabbed and killed by his fury.

~*~

The young Mido woke up in the morning for school. He grabbed the weekly newspaper and gasped:

**Headline News**

**Thirteen Policemen Stabbed!**


	8. Chapter 7: Police

**Police**

**

* * *

**

Link had been drving all night, and into the morning. He had stopped only for gas. He was traveling through Louisiana, nearing Mississippi. He was frantic, looking everywhere in his rear-view mirrors and outside to see if 'Dark Link' had been following him.

So, around 11:13 A.M., he started to realize Dark Link might not have been following him. He would stop for food.

Pulling up at a subway, he tentavily got out of his car and locked it. He kept a small pocket knife he had in his pocket, just in case. He looked in the glass window to see Dark Link was not there, and swung the door open and walked in.

There was a lady waiting behind the counter, putting on an obviously fake smile. She had light red hair and freckles, and she looked around Link's age. He hurried over to the counter.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" she asked him.

"Yes, I'd like a foot-log club." he answered a bit too quickly.

"What type of bread do you want on it?" she asked.

Link scanned over the bread selection, and made his choice," Italian."

"Alright." she mumbled, getting the bread and cutting in into two halves. She looked up at him," What type of cheese do you want on it?"

Link thought for something," American."

"Okay..." she responded quietly, putting triangular slices of cheese on it. She then began putting several types of meats on the sandwich. After a moment, she looked up," What else would you like?"

"Um... uh, how about lettuce and tomatoes." he replied.

"Okay." she then began putting his requested foods on.

"Anything else?"

"Mustard. Salt. That's it."

"Comin' up."

In only a few minutes after, Link had paid for his meal and had sat down at a table by a large window and a newspaper rack and started to eat. There were crumbs on the table, left by a earlier customer, and a newspaper was left laying out, missing from it's rack.

After a moment, Link decided to take a look at the paper as he ate.

It had been left on the sports section, and he did not care for sports much. So, he turned through the pages, looking for something that might interest him. He did. And it was the headline news, and it was _very _interesting.

**Headline News:**

**Thirteen Policemen Stabbed!**

Link read through the article-

_Earlier this morning, people were stunned as they witnessed a horrid massacre. Witnesses say that a dark man with a large sword was attacking a large group of policemen. One even said the figure picked up and threw a car. "Yes, I was amazed. I drove by, on my way to give my friend his tools back, when I looked over to see a polie car being thrown!" - witness Bill Knightly._

_ "The U.S. military is bound to get involved, because we found muck coming out of the police men's wounds. It was the muck killer." said one of the C.S.I.'s that were on the scene shortly after the crime._

_ Police are still looking, but they say they'll need a lot of firepower to put down this killer._

Link stopped reading. That was terrible! The Shadow said he was doing the killings just to get to him...

But he could not go.

How could he? That meant getting killed in some most-likely horrifying, slow, painful way by some copied, darker version of himself! The shadow would have to find him.

Then it hit Link.

The police! He would go to the police! They would hide him, and he would not have to worry about getting killed! He had made it onto the news, so he'd match the picture description perfectly! Yes, he had seen the newspaper article one day, stopping to fill up for gas that showed his picture and told about him missing, and runaway. Yes, that would have to do!

Link forced down the rest of the sandwich hastily and hurried out the door and into his car. In an instant, he had it started up, and he was moving it into reverse, ready to speed to the police station. Okay, maybe not go above the limit. He did not want to get anything on his profile before he even arrived.

Link backed out of his parking space and drove out onto the street, driving to the nearest town, looking for a police station, Delhi Louisiana Police Station. They would help him. They could not just turn him down, after all.

He sped down the roads, trying not to go noticeably far over the speed limit. It killed him every time he hit a red light, or when a slow driver pulled out in front of him.

After a while of driving through the streets, he spotted the building. He turned into the parking lot and turned off his car. He opened the door and got out, shutting it behind him and locking it with his keys. He sped inside and to the counter at the front, where a young man in uniform looked up at him.

The man's head was shaved, and his had a medium-sized brown mustache. His facial expression was nice, but it changed to one of worry when he saw the panic Link was in.

He asked somewhat suspiciously," Sir... can I help you?"

"Yes," Link began," I need help. Serious help!"

The main raised a brow," What kind? If you need medical help, or mental help, maybe go see a doctor, or possibly a -"

"-No!" Link interrupted quickly," I need help like..." he trailed off, searching his brain for a word to use," Guard! I need someone to guard me!"

"And why is this?" the man asked, straightening up more in his chair.

"Because... Listen, this is going to sound crazy, but you know the muck killer?" he asked the man.

"Yes sir, we were informed to watch out for him. Don't worry, son. If you're scared he'll come get you, then-"

"-He's killing people to draw me out!" Link exclaimed.

"Sir, I'm sure that that's not the case. How would-"

"I'm Link Karidzh*****, the boy who's been missing! You see, I encountered the killer, and he said he'd been waiting a long time to kill me, because he hated what I did to him. Now, I had no clue what he was talking about with that last part, but I know he wants to kill me! I just barely escaped that farm with my life! Please, officer; you must help me!" he pleaded in a desperate voice.

The officer looked thoughtful for a moment," Alright, we'll see what we can do. Let me go get the sheriff."

* * *

**A/N: **what do y'all think? The story is getting a bit more developed, rather than some drive-around-in-car-all-year-trying-to-outrun-dark- type of thing.

Don't worry, the story gets better, and a bit more like Zelda. And no, Link won't end up with a gun as his main weapon. He'll use the mastersword. So dont think I'm changing TOO much.

It's just the future.

*: kAridzh is the Greek word for 'courage'. I thought that made a neat, subtle connection with the Triforce of courage.

So, tell me what you think.

Good, bad, medium, could be improved? Seriously - tell me what you think! (Just no flames)


	9. Chapter 8: Road to Seattle

**Chapter 8:**

**Road to Seattle**

**

* * *

**

The past several days had gone from normal to insane. Link now found himself in a S.W.A.T. vehicle, being driven to Barksdale Airforce Base. He would be taken to a new, state-of-the art national guard base in Seattle. Link told them everything that had happened, from hearing things on the radio, to the gas-station encounter, and the near-death experience. They had rushed him off in this vehicle in response.

He was surrounded by men in camouflague, holding machine guns and staring blankly at each other. It was the kind of thing he had read about, happening to him. They were passing the Quachita River which stood between two small towns. They still had a good few hours to go until they reached Shreveport on the western part of Louisiana.

"You know the muck killer?" a young man asked him.

"Yeah." Link responded nervously.

"What was that like?" he inquired.

"Aw, c'mon, Rich, give the poor kid a break. He's probably been through a lot."

"Yes, mom." 'Rich' replied.

A couple of the men laughed.

"Shut up, y'all! This is serious stuff." the Major snapped.

"Yes, sir!" they all cried, going back to their silent stares.

Link was glad they had shut up finally. He just wanted to get to Seattle. Hopefully the military could end this all soon. At least he hoped so. The military could beat the shadow, Link just knew it.

A few hours later, they arrived at Barksdale. In a very short time, the helicopter had landing and positioned itself at a parking spot. The soldiers hopped out, helping him out, too. They hurried into the building. Through a lobby and a series of other rooms, they came out onto the area full of planes and fighter-jets. Link was in awe of the size of the fighters. It was the first time he had seen an F-22 up close.

A man in a suit and tie shot ot of the door, carrying a newspaper.

"Major, a news reporter found out was was going on! This mission is now in the news! They gave our location away!"

"Oh shit; everyone, hurry up and get in the plane! We've been compromised!" he barked.

Everyone loaded into a massive cargo helicopter followed by Link. They all strapped down, and in a few short minutes, they were in the air. To Link, it was just like playing army as a kid, under the rules of your friend. Nothing seemed to make sense, it was happening very fast, and it was exciting. Link had flown only a few times in his life, so he had to get used to flying again. He did after several minutes.

"Now, when we get to Seattle, we're going to get out fast, and run fast. This kid is never left out in the open, got it?" the pilot ordered over the loud-speaker.

Link's heart was beating rapidly. This kind of stuff did not happen every day. He used to want to be a soldier when he was a kid for the excitement. This sure was exciting, but he wasn't sure if it was good or not like he had always imagined.

He sat there all throughout the flight. A kind soldier had given him a candy bar to hold his hunger a bit. He was grateful for it, even though he was still hungry.

A few minutes later, the helicopter came in and landed. The back opened, and everyone piled out. They got Link's head down and made a circle around him and sprinted to the door. Even though Link was in shape, he had a hard time keeping up with these men. They entered a massive brick building and rushed through a lobby.

They moved through several rooms with computers, men, and all sorts of things. They came to an elevator and went down to the basement. They came out into a white room and proceeded through a door. Link had no idea where he was going, but the soldiers showed him the way. They finally stopped in an office, where a large, burly man sat drinking coffee.

"Ah, you must be Link, have a seat." he greeted calmly. He motioned for the soldiers to leave.

"First time in Seattle?" he asked.

"Yes sir." Link replied in a cracked voice, taking a seat. The sudden calm was quite strange.

"Oh, are you thirsty?" he asked, motioning to a mini-fridge.

Link wanted to be polite, but instead, he nodded eagerly.

The man opened it up and showed him the contents.

"Red Drink." Link informed him, seeing a bottle near the back.

"Sure." he said, handing it to him and shutting the fridge.

The boy popped it open and drank the contents down. He felt so much better afterwards. The Red Drink was famous for making people feel better and giving them energy.

"I have those for my grandson, he really likes them." the general informed him.

Link nodded, taking another sip.

"Well, I guess it's down to business, huh? You can sit there an enjoy your pop, still."

'Pop'? What the heck was that? It took Link a second to remember up here, cokes were called 'pops'.

"So you say you encountered the muck-killer up close and personal?" he asked.

Link nodded, "He said stuff about me being warm and full of determination and being 'a hero' or whatever it was. He tried to kill me saying he had killed innocents just to creep me out before he killed me. Now he's killing them to draw me out. He also showed me something on the back of my hand I have never seen before."

Link showed him the three glowing triangles.

The man nodded," I see. Okay, so I'm thinking here he's probably got you mixed up with another man, right? But we'll protect you nonetheless. And about those triangles, I know a guy with a little antique store not far from here who has a book on three glowing triangles and things. I met him when I was a kid. He said it was a real historical document. He knows all about that kind of stuff. Now, I don't know if he was joking or not, but we'll let you talk to him tomorrow. In the mean time, we'll show you a room where you can get some rest."

Link nodded, getting up. He was led out and given his room. A few minutes later after lying on a bed some, a short young man came in with some food. Soup, bread, and more of The Red Drink. Link ate it quickly and placed it on the table by the bed. He fell back onto the mattress and was out in a few minutes.

Finally, rest.

* * *

**A/N: **Long time, no update, huh? I hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far, and yes, I plan to finish it. So, I guess reviews are welcome, and uh, well, I guess that's it! And yes, the whole 'pop' thing has happened to me before. It took me a second to tell the waitress what I wanted.

-Sam.


End file.
